PH gets 2nd donation of China arms, ammo

Beijing will be turning over firearms to Manila that would be used in different parts of the Philippines, the military announced on Wednesday.

Col. Edgard Arevalo, public affairs chief of the Armed Forces of the Philipines (AFP), said the weapons will include M4 rifles, three million rounds of assorted ammunition and 30 sniper scopes.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jinhua will hand over the donation to AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Año and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City today.

Arevalo said the weapons and ammunition would be of help in increasing the “firepower” of the Philippine military in battling terrorist groups including the Abu Sayyaf and the Islamic State-linked Maute Group, who are in Marawi City, Lanao del Norte.

“Well, this will not just help of course the war in Marawi but in other areas of the country where our operations are undergoing,” he told reporters in a news conference in Camp Aguinaldo, general headquarters of the AFP.

Last June 28, President Rodrigo Duterte himself received more than P370 million or 50 million yuan worth of firearms and ammunition from China.

During the turnover, Duterte pledged a friendlier relationship with China despite the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) dispute between the two countries.

According to Arevalo, the firearms and ammunition donated earlier by China have been distributed to the military’s operating units in Marawi City and other areas.